Water-gas apparatus



Oct. 20,1925. A L. s. sTlLEs WATER GAS APPARATUS 'Filed Aug. is. 1921 2sheets-sneu 1 IN VEN TOR.

ctf. '20, 1925.

| s. STILEs WATER GAS APlRATUs Filed Aug. 1a, 1921 2 shun-shan '2 I NVEN TORv .Patented er.. 2c, i925.,

marroni) s. s'rrms, orvaacokmzrv, new Yo.

WTER-GAS APP'IUS.

Application l-ed August 1S, 192i. 'Serial No. 493,246..

1"0 all lwhom z' may conce/m: A

Be it known that l, LiNFonD S. STILES, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, county ofKings, and State of New York, have invented an improvementgiven size ofapparatus,and especially in those cases where the gas is to be used forheating purposes alone or where a reduction in the oil required for acandle power u'nit is reduced in producing and supplying gas on a B. t.u. basis. By elimination of a portion of the loil heretofore employed, avery material reduction in the volume of gas re suits consequently tomaintain the maximum output with a reasonable thermal unit value from agiven apparatus under the reduced use gf oil in association with thewater gas, it'becomes necessaryv to change or modify the internalconstruction of the parts heretofore constituting the carburetter andthe superheater or fixing chamber, with a corresponding modication inthe process. The making of these changes, hereinafter described, is donewith the special purpose of increasing the output efliciencyof theapparatus in respect to the carburetted water gas of the lower B. t. u.standard and enable it to be done with the same general gas apparatusheretofore in common usesupplemented by modifications therein.

jMore particularly, it is my purpose to eliminate the employment of aseparate carburetting chamber as heretofore used in relation to asuperheating chamber, in the former of which the oil has been sprayedfor carburetting the water gas received from .the generator, and whereinthe gas, after passing in a downward direction, has been caused to passinto the bottom of the superheating chamberI and thence upwardtherethrough for fixation before being delivered through the wash-box tothe gas main. In lieu thereof, l convert the carburetter vandsuperheater chambers into a single chamber,

into the bottom ofwhich the water gas from the generator is4 deliveredand which in gaseous yform passes upward part way 'through the fixationchamber and thereat supplied with oil in the form'of spray, which beinggasied. passes upward through the remain'- ingportion of the fixationchamber and is delivered to the water seal box and mains, thereby moregreatly reduce the resistance to` the expansion and passage of the gasthan has heretofore occurred. The result of this improvement is, that aheavy oil may be Aemployed with satisfactory gas production' and agreater volume of gas from the oil produced with less objectionablecarbon deposit and clogging of the checker brick work in the fixationchamber. A greater output of gas is thus insured from a given quantityof material; and in addition thereto, the .pe

riods of gas production .between necessary cleanlng and repairing of thechecker work in the fixation chamber is considerably increased, therebyproviding additional economy in the operation of theplant.

More especially, the object of :my invention is to provide a water gasl. generating" I plant with a combined carburetter and superheatlng orfixing chamber containing suitable checker brick work through which the;gases pass in an upward. direction in their travel from the generator tothe escape fine or outlet andwash-box, the said com. blned carburetterand fixing chamber being provlded with means for admitting a's'pray J ofoil thereinto at a point intermediate of 85 the upper and lower portionsofthe checker brick thereof; the operation being such that lifthe oil soinjected, is not all instantly vaporized (which is liable to occur withheavy oils), the unvaporized oil in passing downward by gravity, isultimately vaporized by l'contact with the checker brick in the lowerportion of the carburetter and fixing cham? ber and by the hot water gasrising therethrough. In this manner the hydrocarbon gases both combinedand free thus associated with the water gas are carried upward throughthe upper checker brick work,-

wherem the vaporized oil is fixed into a substantially permanent gasbefore passing More genericallyA 1 an upward direction throughl asuperheating 105 and fixing means such as 'heated checker brick work,combined with means for pro-'- vidlng oil spray at a point intermediateof .the upper and lowerportions of the said superheatin'g and fixingmeans, whereby the `vaporized portions of the oil spray pass upward withthe blue gas? and the unvaporllt) ieaiacj ized portions of the spraypass downward in a contrary direction to the blue gas until thoroughlyvaporized; and whereby further the oil gas, produced by' said downward.

i process is thereafter'caused to travel in the reverse or upwarddirection infassociation with .the blue gas.

The invention also embodies the method of generating carburetted watergas which consists in the injection of heavy oil in the form of sprayinto the blue gas during its passage vin contact with Vhighly heatedsurfaces, andfsaid injection of the oil made .at a point intermediate ofthe upper and lower levels vof the heating means through which the bluegas passes whereby heavyportions of the oil asA are not readily vapor--0 derstood from the description hereinafter,`

taken in connection with the drawings, ythe invention consists in thenovel construction of gas producing apparatus and mode of operation ofthe process conducted therein,

5 as hereinafter l more fully described and defined in the claim.,

Referring to the drawings: Fig. l is a sectional elevation of a gasapparatus emf bodying my improvements and adapted for to the practice ofmy improved process; land Fig. 2 is a' modification ofthe same'alsoadapted for the practice of the process.

Referring more particularly to the' structure shown in Fig. l, 2 is thegenerator or blue gas producer, and is preferably arranged at the lowerpart of a tall sheet metal casing within the upper part of whichis'arranged a combustion 'chamber 16 and a combined carburetter andfixing chamber 15. By suitable fines and valves, the gaseous productsfrom the generator during its blowing up process may be supplied to thecombustion chamber and the heat produced thereby passed upward forheating the interior checkered brick work of the combined carburetterand fixing chamber, for highly heating it, whereas the water gas (bluegas) produced in the generator may be supplied to the same combustionchamber wherein it is mixed with sprayed oil andthe mixture then passedupward through'the combined carburetter and fixing chambei and thence tothe' wash-box on its way to the Y holder.

' f rlhe generator 2 may bev of any ordinary l en construction, beingprovided v'with agrate 3,'

ashvpit Il, and charging doors or fines `5 near the top 'through whichcoalsmayl be supplied.

tir blast is supplied to the ash'pit 4: bya

blast pipe 6 and controlled by a valve 7j.

Gas may be taken od on the up run from 14, said fiue opening from theash pit. The

generator is further provided with a steam pipe 8 opening below thegrate 3 and discharging' into the ash pit during the up run and is alsoprovided with a steam pipe 8 discharging into the upper part of thegenerator during the down run. During the generation of the water orblue gas, whether on the up run or down run, the blast from pipe 6 isshut off, and steam from either pipe 8 or admitted, as the case may be;but when heating up` the steam is shut off and blast turned-on and theproducer gas so provided is conveyedupward and carried off by flue 9.The general construction and mode of operation of the generator is wellknown and will need no further cxplanation.l

Referring more in detail tothe construction of the combined carburetterand fixing lchamber 15, the same is greater in cubical capacity andcross sectional area compared to the cross sectional area of thegenerator chamber than what has heretofore been the combined cubicalcapacity of both the carburetter and the fixing chamber relative to thegenerator capacity, so that there is far less resistance to the flow ofboth the heatingr gas and the carburetted ,water gas through thecombined carburetter and fixing chamber than was heretofore the casewhere the gas was required to flowfirst through the carburetter and thenthrough the fixing chamber. The interior of' the combined carburetterand fixing chamber is filled Wirth checker' brick work such as indicatedat 17 and 17a, the former supported upon and above a perforated' arch22"' and the lattersupported upon and extending from and above theperforated arch 1S at the botto-m and terminating at a distance somewhatbelow the arch 22h, so as to leave a carburetting chamber 2lb thercat,said chamber provided with oil spraying nozzles 20. The' checker brickwork filling is diagrammatically illustrated as-to its top and lowerportions in each case by way of locating its position'. The upperchecker brick work terminates below the top or crown of the fixationchamber so as to provide a secondary superheating chamber 19 having anescape flue .25 provided with a cover or valve 26 which is employed toclose the said escape flue when the carburetted water gas is required topass through flue V24e, and washbox or seal 27 tothe gas conduit 28 bywhich the gas is conveyed to the holder. The pei'- forated arch 18constitutes a crown or roof to a combustion chamber. 16 into which thevgases'froni t-lie 'generator 'are delivered by lues 10. lThe perforatedarch 22b likewise constitutes a crown or roof to the'carburei.- tingchamber 21".

' The flue 9 from the upper part of the generator 2 opens into the flue10 through the valve 11; and similarly flue 12 from the bottom of thegenerator is also connected with the Hue 10 by an L-shaped'fiue 13, theflow therethrough'being controlled by the valve 14. The latter flues 12and 13 convey water or blue gas alone to the f flu'es 10 leading` intothe combustion chamber 16, Whereas fiue 9 opening fromthe upper -part`of the generator conveys all products of combustion when the generatorCil is being blown for bringing itscontents to incandescence and'atother times conveys the wateror blue gas alone.

The combustionl chamber 16 is provided with a blast pipe 23 whichreceives air from 'main 21 under pressure and. which iscontrolled by avalve 22, the air thus supplied being; employed with the products ofcombustion which pass from the generator at the time ,it is being blown,for raising its contents to incandescence, the combustion taking placein the chamber 16 and providing heated products which pass through theperforated arch 18 and intb the combined cai'buretter and fixing chamberand therein employed for raising its temperai ture. The carburettingchamber 21b is pro.L vided with one or moreoil spray nozzles.

20, whereby when the blast is shut OH and the blue gas is'supplied fromthe gener- .ator 2, the same is intermingled with the oil sprajy in theheated chamber, the "oil being vaporized and intimately 'associated withthe blue gas to carburet it, Withlthe result of increasing theavailable'heat units of the gas product, as a whole; and in thiscondition, said ,gases pass upward through the carburetter` and fixingchamberof the shell 15 expanding'I thereinto and rising is provided'with a4 blast pipe,

`communication, by a pipe 21, with the' therethrough at a speed.Awhichienables the thorough carburetting of the blue gas. and

' the filial firing'y of the same. v v

The upper part of the combined carbureiter and fixirig. chamber, andheretofore designated a' superheating chamber 19, 23a having compressed`air main"21 the supply of air froin said pipe" 21L iii-to thechamberl19, be` ing controlled by valve 22a. By means of. this blast pipe 23,-the products of coinbuS-.

Qtion employed in heating up the combined carburetter andfixingl'chamber may be supplied with additional air before they escapefrom the escape flue.25 during the heating up process, and in thismanner insure arelainthe said chamber portion 19 andthereby enable it toprovide `additional heat as a final means of fixationV of thecarburetted gas at a time when the said blast is sluit oii".

It will be understood that in the operation of the apparatus justdescribed, the resistance to the flouT of the gases, both heating gasand carburetted water gas, through the combined carburetter and fixingchamber, is considerably less than the vsame exists in the moderntypesof water g apparatus -wherein the carburetter and theafisxing cliamber are operated inseries, and' for this reasori`,"the.quantity ofgases, whether produced `when-blowing upY the generator, or whengenerating Water gas therein, are considerably increased in volume,during the normal operationof the apparatus, over what they wereformerly in a modern gas apparatus of the same size; and consequently agreater output of gas in cubic'feet `is obtained with the apparatusconstructed as herein set out, in a given period oftime and with thesame coal consumption, than has ployed to operate inisuccession.

sev

heretofore been possible wherein the carbu' retteis and fixing chambershave been em- In a as apparatus of the general arrange;

mentl o Fig. l, so far as relates `to the po-v 'sition of the generatorbelow the carbuf retting and fixing chamber means, the constructionthereof is similar to the l/Villiamson type of gas `apparatus embodied,for ezti 'Vaniple, in the apparatus setout in Letters Patent No`767,217, dated -August 9,V 1904, to Eustace; and when the same is to beconverted into a gas system embodying my iinprovements, the dividingwall heretofore used in the chamber 15 as a separat-ion between thecarburetter and fixing chambers is removed, thereby materiallyincreasing the available cross' sectiouof the combined carburctting andfixing chamber; and among other changes, the oil is supplied in the,chamber 2lb below t-he arch 22b instead of at the top and within Aachambered poi'- tion in the top kof the,lcarburetter,,and further,thegas pipe or flue from fiues 1 0 to the chamber19 of ,the carburetter isremoved` and the gases .of all characters supplied to thechamber A16.below the arch 1S and caused to pass upwardly through the same and thevchecker brick of the combined ranged, on independent foundations on thesame level, as shown in vFig. 2. '1n this construction. the generator 2is in all material respects the same as in Fig. 1, though the,

coal may be charged through a Icentral top "fn-view -of the4 'fact thatthev combined,

earburetterA and fixing chamber 15 sets upona foundation on the samelevel with the generatorand the products of combustion and gas are to bedelivered from the generator initlie chamber 16 at the bottom thereof,connection-is made with the'upper gas outlet of the generator 2l .by adownwardly extending pipe or flue 13, which is in communication' withthe chamber 16 by means of a horizontal flue 10 and which, with flue.13, is Ain communication with the lower part of the generator by a flue12 containing the valve 14. The val-ves 11 and 14 of the outlet flues oft-he generator 2 are employed alternately and correspond to thesimilar'valves shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2, the oil spray is supplied bya spray pipe 2() into the carburetting chamber. 21b .below arch l22", asin the case of Fig. 1, which carburetting chamber acts as' a highlyheat-v ed oil -Avaporizing space wherein the y oil vapor is intimatelymixed with the water gas passing from the generator and before passingupwardly through the upper portion 17 of the combined carburetter andfixing chamber. The oil spray delivered into the chamber 21h will'bepartly vaporized and a. portion will fallby gravity upon the lowerchecker brick work 17a and be come therein vaporized, the vapor so produced rising-with the up flowing blue gas? and passing through thecarburetting chamber 21, arch 22 and the upper checker brick on its wayto chamber 19 and outlet 24. As will 'be'seen, the checker brick work 17above the chamber 21b in which the oil spray is linjected, is greatlymore in quantity 'and heating capacity than the checker brick work 17abelow said oil receivingchamber, and-this is as it should be, as thequantity of the heavy hydrocarbons difficult fof" volatilization isrelatively much smaller thanthose hydrocarbons of quality which are.readily gasified and instantly pass upward .from the chamber 21b withthe blue gas. Therefore, as the checker brick 17 is not only requiredtovaporize the lighter oils but also fix the gas embodying the same aswell ,as thosear'ising from the heavier hydrocarbons, the quantity ofsaid checker brick work should be correspondingly greater than. thebrick work 17a. rThe combustion chamber 16 is. also' providedwith 'anairpipe 21 having 'a'.control valve 22,

is passing -through the carburetter and fix-V ing chamber. Thecarburetted water gas from the 'upper chamber19 passes by plpe 24 intothewash-box or seal 27 and from conveyed to the holder orl otherapparatus, such as the scrubbers, as may be required. AIn a general,way', if the combined carbu'- placed on top of the generator 2,maintaining the connections 10`and 13 as shown, we would have a verysimilar construction to that shown in Fig. 1.,-

' In all cases, there is a unitary highly heated chamber performingsimultaneously Vthere it flows through a pipe 28 and is .A

retter and fixing .chamber of. Fig. 2' werel the combined functionsofca'rburetter and fixing chamber, the same being provided with checkerbrick work-of usual construe-f tlon' 4and having a cross sectional area.or

passage greatly in excess of what has heretofore been the crosssectional area of either the carburetter or fixing chamber where the isaid chamberswere connected in series, as iscustomary in the commercialforms of water gas. apparatus. By 'this` construction, thev shape of thechamber is maintained circular and is, therefore, best suited forthorough utilization of the checker brick work and with the greatestproduction of carburetted gas with a givensize ofcarburetting and fixingchamber, whereby a maximum output may be' obtained. The constructionfurthermore provides one in which thev first function, namely,carburetting, is performed upon the blue gas to the fullest extentrequired, and thereafter the second function, namely, the fixing o f thegas, takes place during the further continuous passage of thecarburetted gas through the checker brickl work, vit being understoodthat vthe lower portion of the checker brick work performs the specialfunction inhe'atiug the blue gas preliminary to its meeting the oilvapor and in vapo'rizing any of the oil which has notwbeen gasified inthe chamber 21h, this special. function in connection vwith. a car-4buretting and fixing chamber not having been heretofore employed, as faras I am aware. By performing the two functions,

lcarburetting and fixing, m one chamber, they automatically. take placein accordance' with requirements, that is to say, the function of thexing chamber wherein the gases all pass in the same direction there is atendency of a uniformity in the flow of gases through the carburetterand fixing.

chamber and thereby unaiec'ted by reverse changes in the direction offlow and the consequent variation in pressures resulting therefrom.

Vhen I refer to the chamber l'as the combustion chamber at the base ofthe combined carburetter and fixing chamber, I do lnot Wish to belimited thereby to any specic character of compartment or chamber toinclude underV such designation any suitable space in which the gaseousproducts may commingle with the blast to provide the heating gases forthe checker brick work, though ordinarily, this chamber will be formedas a shallow compartment having a perforated arched roof upon which thechecker brick Work is supported.

It will now be rapparent that I have 'de-. vised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and describe-dthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory v and reliable results, itis to be understood that Ido not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars Without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z A water gasapparatus, comprising a generator for generating Water gas, an uprightcombined carbureter and iixer, a combustion chamber in the lower part ofthe combined carbureter and fixer in communication with the generator, asuperheating chamber in the upper part of the combined carbureter andfixer, said superheating chamber having al valve controlled escape iiuefor Waste products of combustion and a separate outlet for the watergas', blast pipes with separate means of control opening separately intothe combustion chamber and the superheatino chamber for supplying airI`for primary an final combustion within the chambers during the heatingup process, said carbureter and iixer being provided intermediate of itsupper and lower chambers with checker brick work and an oil vaporizingchamber intermediate of the upper and lower portions of said checkerbrick work, means for supplying oil to the oil Vaporizing chamber, and aWash box in communication with the water gas outlet from the uppersuperheating chamber for permitting the passage or' the gases to becollected.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

LINFORD S. STILES.

